Contribution of black olives and other vegetable toppings to acrylamide formation in pizzas

Acrylamide is a toxic compound of great concern to both consumers and the food industry, formed during the cooking of foods, including pizzas. In this study, the effect of the most common vegetable ingredients used in pizza making on acrylamide formation was evaluated. These vegetables were first heated under simulated pizza-baking conditions, and black olives, roasted red peppers, green peppers, and eggplants showed the highest acrylamide levels, followed by green olives, mushrooms, zucchinis, pumpkins, and caramelized onions. The toxic substance was not detected in the heated sweetcorn. However, no significant increase in acrylamide level was found in baked pizzas due to the addition of any vegetable topping, mainly because of the low proportion of these ingredients (3–11 %). In particular, it was observed that the presence of black olives in pizzas from multinational pizza chains slightly increased the acrylamide level. Indeed, this trend was not observed in purchased refrigerated pizzas enriched with black olives due to the use of unsterilized fruit. Furthermore, the margins of exposure remained within the range of public health concern for neoplastic effects, regardless of the vegetable ingredient added to the pizza. • Acrylamide formation was high in heated roasted red peppers and black olives. • The contribution of vegetable toppings to acrylamide levels in pizzas was negligible. • Addition of black olives to pizzas did not significantly increased the acrylamide level. • Acrylamide exposure in pizzas caused MOE values related to neoplastic risk.